GEMS

Geometric Manufacturing Solutions for Freeform Shapes

This research project is funded by the EC within the framework of
Marie Curie Actions (Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways).
It is a collaboration of ModuleWorks, Aachen, the Computer Science
department of the Technion in Haifa (Prof. Gershon Elber), the research
group Geometric Modeling and Industrial Geometry at
TU Wien (Prof. Helmut Pottmann),
Evolute GmbH in Vienna, and Moduleworks Romania in Bucharest.

We investigate different manufacturing technologies for freeform surfaces
which are conceptually similar. One of those is the efficient NC machining
of parts which have to be produced in large amounts so that it is feasible
to specifically design a cutting tool for that purpose. The major
computational problem to be solved here is to approximate a given freeform
surface by another surface generated by a 1-parameter motion of a milling
tool. Another problem is the segmentation of a freeform surface into
patches which can be generated by sweeping a profile curve. This is
especially relevant in architecture, for the design of both outer surfaces
and of sub-constructions. In freeform architecture each design is unique,
and it is therefore important that it is composed of parts which are
easily generated, e.g. by
wire-cutting through styrofoam. The respective solutions of these two
tasks share numerous components, and thus will be investigated within the
same project.